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The man Congress put in charge of auditing the billions of dollars dumped on Iraq after Saddam Hussein was toppled has told the Los Angels Times he can't rule out the possibility that $6.6 billion in cash sent from the U.S. was stolen. Special inspector general for Iraq reconstruction Stuart Bowen told the Times the missing money may represent "the largest theft of funds in national history." It was not, it is crucial to note here, U.S. tax-payer dollars which have gone missing in Iraq. The money came from a special fund set up by the Federal Reserve Bank of...

DEAUVILLE, France – Rich countries and international lenders are aiming to provide $40 billion in funding for Arab nations trying to establish true democracies, officials said at a Group of Eight summit Friday. Officials didn't fully detail the sources of the money, or how it would be used, but the thrust was clearly to underpin democracy in Egypt and Tunisia — where huge public uprisings ousted autocratic regimes this year — and put pressure on repressive rulers in Syria and Libya. The overall message from President Barack Obama and the other G-8 leaders meeting in this Normandy resort appeared to...

IBD Editorials 'Arab Spring,' Christian Winter Posted 05/20/2011 06:46 PM ET Islamofascism: Obama wants to reward "democratic Egypt" with $1 billion in debt relief. Only, "democratic" Egypt is torching churches and slaughtering Christians left and right. There's a howling disconnect between the president's Pollyannaish narrative of an 'Arab Spring' and the reality on the ground in beneficiary countries such as Egypt, where religious intolerance and human-rights abuses are on the rise. In his speech calling for a Mideast Marshall Plan, he failed to mention increasingly violent attacks against Coptic Christians throughout post-Mubarak Egypt. For them, the "Arab Spring" has turned...

It’s enough to make a budget hawk lose his feathers. Notwithstanding President Obama’s promise in his State of the Union address to freeze domestic discretionary spending for five years, Vice President Joseph Biden Tuesday proposed $53 billion in high-speed-rail projects — atop $8 billion so previously “invested.” This is every boy’s dream: the ultimate train set. Thank you, Santa! For their part, congressional Republicans struggle to find $100 billion in budget cuts, even though their promise to do so fueled their historical election victories last November. So far, they have proposed just $74 billion in cuts for fiscal year 2011,...

Yobama!Team BT, Nov 8, 2010, 12.00am IST God's truth, the city was glad to see him go. 'Coz not since 26/11, has South Mumbai been witness to such drama over security, such isolation of Colaba and Nariman Point, even Fountain, Metro, Mahapalika Marg and CST, all of which President Barack Obama fleetingly visited in his whistlestop trip to Mumbai. The governments central and state may say what they want, but Obama's visit has left a bitter aftertaste in the mouth of the Mumbaikar who is accustomed to sweetness around this time of the year because of the sacrifices the...

Sceptical green urges smart billions to fight warmingBy Slim Allagui Posted Sun Sep 5, 2010 2:25pm PDT COPENHAGEN (AFP) - Bjoern Lomborg, the bad boy of the climate debate who has rejected for years "alarmist" prophecies from environmentalists, stresses in a new book the need to invest billions to fight global warming. In "Smart Solutions to Climate Change," Lomborg lashes out at current policies to curb greenhouse gas emissions but also highlights the need to spend 100 billion dollars a year on intelligent research and green technologies. By spending billions in a smart way, the world could essentially resolve the...

Financial expert Zubi Diamond, author of Wizards of Wall Street, says that Republican proposals to fix the economy are deficient because they fail to protect invested capital in the stock market from the hedge fund short sellers. Republican Representatives Paul Ryan and John Boehner, who voted for the $700 billion big bank bailouts that began under President Bush, have put forward much-publicized proposals to solve the economic crisis. But Diamond says he has had no luck in getting Boehner?or other top Republicans?to pay any attention to his detailed and specific plan to save the economy by reinstating the safeguard regulations...

SNIPPET: "The United Nations has created a super agency for feminists, but one female leader thinks it's unnecessary. The U.N. General Assembly recently voted to consolidate four different groups into a single one that could eventually be fueled by a $1 billion a year, and many of those dollars would come from the U.S." SNIPPET: "Many countries where abortion is limited or illegal have been pressured by to legalize it. That is currently being played out in Kenya, where a constitution before voters is pushing for legalized abortion. The United States is pumping money into that campaign as well."

PHOTO CAPTION: "Correspondents say the deal is part of Washington's attempts to counter anti-US sentiment in Pakistan" SNIPPET: "US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has announced aid projects worth $7.5bn (£5bn) for Pakistan at the start of talks in the capital Islamabad. The package, agreed by Congress last year, is part of Washington's attempts to counter anti-American sentiment in the country, correspondents say. The five-year deal includes projects for two hydro-electric dams and renewable energy sources."

SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) -- The chairman of the Republican National Committee chair Michael Steele pledges big bucks to support Carly Fiorina's senate campaign against Democratic Senator Barbara Boxer. Steele was in San Francisco Thursday morning, talking about California politics and the money it will take to win in November. Show me the money, but of course he wouldn't -- to ABC7 anyway. The question is will he show Fiorina the money? The two are scheduled to sit down together on Friday. Steele told reporters financial help for GOP candidates is coming. "We're going to be in play here, big time...

(CNSNews.com) - In his first-ever address from the Oval Office on Tuesday night, President Barack Obama said he was going to “inform” the chairman of BP that he must surrender the company’s money to an independent party that will distribute it to people and businesses determined to have been harmed by the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. The president’s declaration raises a serious constitutional question about his authority: Where does the president get the lawful power to order any private-sector company—BP or any other—that it must surrender its money? Should not courts and normal legal proceedings determine who is responsible, who has...

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Thursday, June 10, 2010 Indian Government Officials Provided Access to Terror Defendant David Headley As part of the cooperation and partnership between the United States and India in the fight against international terrorism, Indian law enforcement officials were provided direct access to interview David Coleman Headley, the Justice Department announced today. Mr. Headley and his counsel agreed to the meetings and Headley answered the Indian investigators’ questions over the course of seven days of interviews. There were no restrictions on the questions posed by Indian investigators. To protect the confidentiality of the investigations being conducted by both...

Buried deep inside a federal newsletter on March 16 was something called a "notice of solicitation of comments" from the Bureau of Labor Statistics at the Department of Labor. "BLS is responsible for developing and implementing the collection of new data on green jobs," said the note in the Federal Register, which is widely read by government bureaucrats and almost never seen by the general public. But the notice said there is "no widely accepted standard definition of 'green jobs.'" To help find that definition, the Labor Department asked that readers send in suggestions.

What exactly is the job of the president of the United States? Let's ask the man who currently holds that position, Barack Obama: "My job right now is just to make sure that everybody in the Gulf understands this is what I wake up to in the morning and this is what I go to bed at night thinking about: the spill." Obama's job description is fascinating. He has been depicted as a proponent of "activist government," but this may be a bum rap. Now he tells us he thinks that if he somehow gets people to think about him...

"Health Law Bans New Doctor-Owned Hospitals, Blocks Expansion of Existing Ones" SNIPPET: "The rules fall under Title VI, Section 6001 of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. The provision is titled “Physician Ownership and Other Transparency – Limitations on Medicare Exceptions to the Prohibition on Certain Physician Referral for Hospitals.” More than 60 doctor-owned hospitals across the country that were in the development stage will be canceled, said Molly Sandvig, executive director of Physician Hospitals of America (PHA). “That’s a lot of access to communities that will be denied,” Sandvig told CNSNews.com. “The existing hospitals are greatly affected. They...

Since the health care reform push hit its final stretch, numerous sweeteners for lawmakers' districts and states have been found inside the package. Earmark requests are made outside of the health care bill, making them a bit more difficult to link to any vote-trading. But it is precisely that kind of tricky-to-catch deal-making that Republican Sen. Tom Coburn said he and other GOP senators would be monitoring for months to come. "If you think you can cut a deal now and it not come out until after the election, I want to tell you that isn't going to happen," Coburn...

Underscoring arguments for strong participation in this year's census, a new report details the billions of dollars that Illinois and the Chicago region have received in federal funds tied to the previous count. Researchers with the Brookings Institution, a Washington think tank, found that Illinois received $19.1 billion in 2008 in federal funds tied to census counts, about a third of all the federal assistance it received. Of that amount, the Chicago area received at least $12.6 billion, the study found.

<p>The Environmental Protection Agency will spend $2.2 billion over five years on the Great Lakes to clean up polluted water and beaches, restore wetlands and fight invasive species such as Asian carp in a revitalization effort to be detailed Sunday.</p>

"Obama to Announce $8 Billion High-Speed Rail Plan After State of the Union Speech" Wednesday, January 27, 2010 By Julie Pace, Associated Press SNIPPET: "Washington (AP) - A day after delivering a State of the Union address aimed at showing recession-weary Americans he understands their struggles, President Barack Obama intends to award $8 billion in stimulus funds to develop high-speed rail corridors and sell the program as a jobs creator. Obama and Vice President Joe Biden plan to announce grants for 13 major corridors during a town hall meeting in Tampa, Fla., Thursday..."

Former eBay executive Meg Whitman has opened up a wide lead in the Republican race for governor, according to the latest Capitol Weekly/Probolsky Research poll. About a third of Republicans and decline-to-state voters who said they intend to vote Republican said they favor Whitman, who has a 3-to-1 edge over rival contender Tom Campbell, Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner remains stuck in a distant third, with 5.5 percent of Republican support. The numbers show a significant increase in recent weeks for Whitman that reflects her prodigious spending. Already, seven months before the primary and full year before the general election, Whitman...

Note: The following text is a quote: THE BRIEFING ROOM THE WHITE HOUSE Office of the Press Secretary ___________________________________________________________________________ For Immediate Release October 5, 2009 President Obama signs an Executive Order Focused on Federal Leadership in Environmental, Energy, and Economic Performance WASHINGTON, DC – Demonstrating a commitment to lead by example, President Obama signed an Executive Order (attached) today that sets sustainability goals for Federal agencies and focuses on making improvements in their environmental, energy and economic performance. The Executive Order requires Federal agencies to set a 2020 greenhouse gas emissions reduction target within 90 days; increase energy efficiency; reduce...

Few things cause the eye to glaze over more than economic statistics, particularly when discussing all but incomprehensible sums in the billions and trillions of dollars. There are two statistics which the public should be aware of more than others; they are 1) Gross Domestic Product (total economic output of the country); and 2) The Net Gross Domestic Product per Person (The GDP less the amount of government spending at all levels divided by the total population). The Net GDP per person recognizes the impact of federal, state and local spending on the economy. Ideally the net amount each citizen...

After dropping some popular immigration-enforcement measures, Congress on Tuesday passed the 2010 homeland security spending bill that gives President Obama the authority to transfer terrorism-suspect detainees to the United States for trial, though only after he submits a plan to Congress. The Senate voted 79-19 to pass the $44.1 billion bill, following the House's approval last week. Mr. Obama is expected to sign it. "It has been eight years, eight long years since the attacks of 9/11. There are some people in this country who have become complacent about the threat of another attack. Don't count me as one of...

A 90-page document released by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) released on September 24 proposes 77 standards for smart grid development. The report also detailed 14 areas that the government agency will prioritize in order to facilitate development. Utilities, regulators, and vendors have been waiting for this release from the NIST. The report details specific standards that utilities and developers will be expected to meet in their smart grid deployment. The institute will continue working on cybersecurity standards which should be released by the end of the year. The NIST began working on a set of standards...

Note: The following text is a quote: THE BRIEFING ROOM THE WHITE HOUSE Office of the Press Secretary ___________________________________________________________________________ For Immediate Release September 25, 2009 The following fact sheets outline the outcomes of the Pittsburgh Summit hosted by President Obama on September 24th and 25th. FACT SHEETS The Pittsburgh Summit: Key Accomplishments LINK Creating a 21st Century International Economic Architecture LINK Framework for Strong, Sustainable, and Balanced Growth LINK Bold and Coordinated Actions from Crisis to Recovery LINK Partnering on Food Security LINK Acting on our Global Energy and Climate Change Challenges LINK Support for the Most Vulnerable LINK

With the massive increases in federal spending, inflation is one of the risks that await us. To protect us from the political demagoguery that will accompany that inflation, let's now decide what is and what is not inflation. One price or several prices rising is not inflation. Increases in money supply are what constitute inflation, and a general rise in prices is the symptom. As the late Nobel laureate professor Milton Friedman said, "Inflation is always and everywhere a monetary phenomenon, in the sense that it cannot occur without a more rapid increase in the quantity of money than in...

The Federal Reserve has made $14 billion in profits on loans made in the last two years, the Financial Times reported on Monday, citing officials close to the matter. The U.S. central bank also earned about $19 billion from interest and fees charged to institutions that tapped liquidity facilities during the global financial crisis, the report said. If the Fed had invested the same amounted loaned out in three-month Treasury bills since August 2007, it would have earned $5 billion in interest, the FT said. .....

SNIPPET: "When including about $10.5 billion in matching funds committed by the applicants, the total price tag for the proposed broadband projects topped $38 billion. The Recovery Act provided a total of $7.2 billion to the two agencies to expand broadband services, of which NTIA will use $4.7 billion, largely to deploy broadband infrastructure in unserved and underserved areas, and RUS will invest $2.5 billion to facilitate broadband deployment in primarily rural communities. Approximately $2.4 billion from RUS and up to $1.6 billion from NTIA is available in this first grant round."

"Obama’s Spending Plans Will Nearly Double the National Debt--White House Leaked the News Late on Friday" Monday, August 24, 2009 SNIPPET: "(CNSNews.com) - In news leaked late Friday to the Reuters news agency, the White House conceded that the national debt will increase by $9 trillion over the next ten years, nearly doubling a national debt that now stands at $11.67 trillion." SNIPPET: "The good news that the White House leaked to Reuters late on Friday is that it is now projecting that this year’s deficit will be $1.58 trillion, down from the $1.84 trillion it earlier estimated. At $1.58...

A late Friday afternoon candygram from the White House to help you get the weekend started right. And to think, China’s starting to doubt that American debt is a smart investment. It’s a good thing our massive new health-care bureaucracy’s going to be deficit-neutral. Imagine how much higher this number would be if it wasn’t. The Obama administration will raise its 10-year budget deficit projection to roughly $9 trillion from $7.108 trillion in a report next week, a senior administration official told Reuters on Friday. “The new forecasts are based on new data that reflect how severe the economic downturn...

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Obama administration will raise its 10-year budget deficit projection to roughly $9 trillion from $7.108 trillion in a report next week, a senior administration official told Reuters on Friday. "The new forecasts are based on new data that reflect how severe the economic downturn was in the late fall of last year and the winter of this year," said the official, who is familiar with the plans. "Our budget projections are now in line with the spring and summer projections that the Congressional Budget Office put out." The CBO said in June that deficits between 2010...

THE BRIEFING ROOM • THE BLOG THE BLOG TUESDAY, AUGUST 4TH, 2009 AT 6:55 AM Facts Are Stubborn Things Posted by Macon Phillips Opponents of health insurance reform may find the truth a little inconvenient, but as our second president famously said, "facts are stubborn things." Scary chain emails and videos are starting to percolate on the internet, breathlessly claiming, for example, to "uncover" the truth about the President’s health insurance reform positions. In this video, Linda Douglass, the communications director for the White House’s Health Reform Office, addresses one example that makes it look like the President intends to...

Thought you be interested in this roll call vote on Sen. Tom Coburn’s proposal to allow traded-in Cash-for-Clunkers cars to be used to assist charities and poor families. Here’s the text of the proposal. [Amendment, quickly: The clunkers, instead of being destroyed, could be donated to charitable organizations] Here's the breakdown

So you can see the dealers are enjoying it. My local television stations are flooded with Cash for Clunkers commercials. Dealers are soaking it up. So the question then arises…with a cost per consumer of TWO HUNDRED AND TEN TIMES the rebate they are getting for trading in their car, is it worth it? Or is Cash for Clunkers just a plan to get some more money in the automakers pockets? It seems they are the ones benefiting from this, not the consumer.

<p>The new infusion means the troubled company has drawn a total of $45.9 billion of its $200 billion lifeline this year. Fannie Mae and its sister firm, Freddie Mac (FRE, Fortune 500), were taken over by the federal government last September amid the global financial meltdown.</p>

Note: The following text is a quote: THE BRIEFING ROOM THE WHITE HOUSE Office of the Press Secretary ----------------------------------------------------------------- For Immediate Release August 5, 2009 REMARKS BY THE PRESIDENT ON THE ECONOMY Monaco Coach, Wakarusa, Indiana 11:55 AM. EDT THE PRESIDENT: Thank you so much. Well, it is wonderful to be in Wakarusa. Thank you so much for the wonderful welcome. Herman, thanks for the great introduction. It is great to be back in Indiana. (Applause.) This is as close as I've gotten to home in a while. (Laughter.) And I flew out here with somebody who I think the...

Note:The following text is a quote: THE BRIEFING ROOM THE WHITE HOUSE Office of the Press Secretary ________________________________________________________________________ For Immediate Release July 29, 2009 REMARKS BY THE PRESIDENT AT TOWN HALL Broughton High School Raleigh, North Carolina 12:05 P.M. EDT THE PRESIDENT: Hello, North Carolina! (Applause.) Thank you so much. All right, please, everybody have a seat. I am so excited to be back in Raleigh, to be back in North Carolina. (Applause.) This is a community and a state that has been so good to me. (Applause.) And I know that part of the reason is because I travel...

re than 4,600 new police officers are to be hired across the United States at a cost of one billion dollars as part of the country's economic stimulus plan, administration officials said Tuesday. The grants will be awarded to some 1,046 law enforcement agencies in all 50 states and will provide the full salary and benefits for 4,699 officers for three years, according to a Justice Department statement. There is also a provision that departments receiving the funds retain the positions for at least a fourth year

Note: The following text is a quote: THE BRIEFING ROOM Office of Communications & Outreach 400 Maryland Ave., S.W. Washington, D.C. 20202 _______________________________________________________________________________ For Immediate Release July 24, 2009 PRESIDENT OBAMA, U.S. SECRETARY OF EDUCATION DUNCAN ANNOUNCE NATIONAL COMPETITION TO ADVANCE SCHOOL REFORM Obama Administration Starts $4.35 Billion "Race to the Top" Competition, Pledges a Total of $10 Billion for Reforms President Barack Obama and U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan today announced that states leading the way on school reform will be eligible to compete for $4.35 billion in Race to the Top competitive grants to support education reform...

Note: The following text is a quote: Vice President Biden, Attorney General Holder Announce Recovery Act Funding to Support Law Enforcement Recovery Act Funds to Add Police Officers to the Streets; Build Safer Communities Vice President Joe Biden and Attorney General Eric Holder today announced $1 billion in grants to fund the hiring and rehiring of law enforcement officers all across the country under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. The grants will be awarded to 1,046 law enforcement agencies from all 50 states and will provide 100 percent of the approved salary and benefits for 4,699 officers...

Some of the world’s leading pharmaceutical companies are reaping billions of dollars in extra revenue amid global concern about the spread of swine flu. Analysts expect to see a boost in sales from GlaxoSmithKline, Roche and Sanofi-Aventis when the companies report first-half earnings lifted by government contracts for flu vaccines and antiviral medicines.

Freddie Mac Gets Another $6.1B from Gov't BY STEPHEN BERNARD | AP Business Writer You have entered an invalid email address From (email):* Required NEW YORK (AP) - Battered mortgage giant Freddie Mac received $6.1 billion in new funds from the Treasury Department to help offset its mounting liabilities, according to a regulatory filing submitted Wednesday. The company could also be close to naming a new, permanent CEO, according to a report in The Wall Street Journal. The Federal Housing Finance Agency, which has been operating Freddie Mac since last fall, requested the funds for Freddie Mac after the mortgage...

One of President Barack Obama's most prominent Wall Street backers gives him high marks on just about everything except his approach to Wall Street.

By Glenn Somerville and Corbett Daly WASHINGTON, May 21 (Reuters) - The U.S. Treasury Department said on Thursday it has put another $7.5 billion into auto lender GMAC to enable it to support both Chrysler LLC [CBS.UL], and General Motors Corp Corp (GM.N) car buyers and partly meet a shortage of capital. The widely anticipated action is intended to help counter a scarcity of credit that has helped drive sales of domestic cars into a ditch. The Federal Reserve also extended an exemption that will let GMAC keep lending to GM dealers and retail customers, which it normally would be...

Oregon Republicans offer no-new-tax budget by Harry Esteve, The Oregonian Tuesday May 12, 2009, 1:43 PM SALEM -- Oregon could pay for a full school year and protect its most vulnerable citizens without raising taxes, according to an alternative budget proposal released Tuesday by Republican legislative leaders. Their two-year spending plan, outlined in the broadest terms at a news conference, effectively gives most state agencies the same amount of money they got over the past two years and maintains a surplus to cover emergencies. "A rush to new taxes, quite frankly, is unnecessary," said Sen. Frank Morse, one of the...

At least $53 million in federal funds have gone to ACORN activists since 1994, and the controversial group could get up to $8.5 billion more tax dollars despite being under investigation for voter registration fraud in a dozen states. The economic stimulus bill enacted in February contains $3 billion that the non-profit activist group known more formally as the Association for Community Organizations for Reform Now could receive, and 2010 federal budget contains another $5.5 billion that could also find its way into the group’s coffers. An Examiner review of federal spending data found that ACORN has received at least...

Reporting from Washington -- President Obama touted his plan for developing high-speed railways Thursday, detailing how $13 billion in federal money would act as a "down payment" on creating speedier passenger train service. "High-speed rail is long overdue, and this plan lets American travelers know that they are not doomed to a future of long lines at the airports or jammed cars on the highways," Obama said. "There's no reason why we can't do this." The proposal lists the long-planned rail corridor from Los Angeles to San Francisco as one that could receive funding, as well as a network featuring...

Most of this as-yet-undiscovered problem, Gober says, lies in the area of reinsurance, whereby one insurance company insures the liabilities of another so that the latter doesn't have to carry all the risk on its books. Most major insurance companies use outside firms to reinsure, but the vast majority of AIG's reinsurance contracts are negotiated internally among its affiliates, Gober says, and these internal balance sheets don't add up. The annual report of one major AIG subsidiary, American Home Assurance, shows that it owes $25 billion to another AIG affiliate, National Union Fire, Gober maintains. But American has only $22...

Books claiming that science disproves ‘young-earth’ creationism are very common, and books that claim the Bible itself does not mandate a literal interpretation of the first few chapters of Genesis are not in short supply either. David Snoke’s book A Biblical Case for an Old Earth ostensibly falls in the latter group, though his main reason for rejecting biblical creation is really uniformitarian ‘science’. Books like these generally don’t pose a threat to informed creationists, and this one is no exception. In fact, Snoke could have saved himself a lot of trouble if he had actually taken the time to...

D.C. officials say any federal stimulus funds provided for schools and bridges in the District will enable them to drop their own funding plans for such projects and divert the money to help plug other gaps in their 2010 budget. The officials argued at a meeting of the Federation of Citizens Associations of the District of Columbia on Tuesday evening that such action would not undermine the purpose of the stimulus package, which has been designed to move money quickly into projects where it will produce the most jobs. But some economists see the plan as an example of a...